The invention relates to a method of creating networks of magnetic particles on the surface of a solid or a fluid. More specifically the invention relates to a method of creating self-assembling networks of conducting chains of magnetic particles.
The use of granular materials has become integral for many aspects of modern life. Granular particles do not cleanly fit within the definition of a solid, a liquid or a gas. Granular particles exhibit no tensile stresses as a solid would, have inelastic collisions unlike a gas, and have no critical slope as exhibited by liquids. In particular, the size of the granular particle impacts the properties it exhibits. The trend in materials science has been to seek manipulation of smaller and smaller granular particles.
As microscale and nanoscale particles are finding important applications, there is a need for an ability to control extremely fine powders which are not easily controlled by mechanical methods.